1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle connector lockout for an in-vehicle onboard Diagnostic Link Connector (DLC) computer interface port, and more specifically to enhancing a vehicle connector lockout with embedded Near Frequency Communication (NFC) technologies which can communicate with the Internet via a mobile cell application.
2. Description of Related Art
Technology allowing vehicle safety researchers to collect objective data on crashes would open the door to a new generation of understanding. The opportunities are immense since about 20,000 tow-away crashes occur each day. The past four decades have witnessed an exponential increase in the number and sophistication of electronic systems in vehicles. A vast increase in automotive electronic systems, coupled with related memory storage technologies, has created an array of new safety engineering opportunities and subsequent consumer acceptance challenges.
Virtually every passenger car and light truck manufactured in or imported to the North American market since model year 1996 includes an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandated Diagnostic Link Connector (DLC) to allow access to engine and emissions diagnostic data. SAE J1962 was originally developed to meet U.S. OBD requirements for 1996 and later model year vehicles. ISO 15031-3 was based on SAE J1962 and was intended to meet European OBD requirements for 2000 and later model year vehicles, and added a modified connector type to accommodate vehicles with a 24 V system. This document is technically equivalent to ISO 15031-3 with U.S. specific requirements identified. The ISO 15031-3 document is intended to satisfy the OBD requirements in countries other than the U.S., and includes functionality not required or not allowed in the U.S. This onboard DLC (OBDII) is regulated by the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) (40 CFR 86.094-17(h)) and revisions for subsequent model years. It is standardized by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Vehicle Electrical Engineering Systems Diagnostic Standards Committee.
The physical configuration of the output plug is specified under SAE J1962-2002 and through the International Standards Organization under ISO 15031-3:2004 and is increasingly used as an access point to other in-vehicle electronics systems, subsystems, computers, sensors, actuators and an array of control modules including the air bag control module. The onboard DLC is also used as a serial port to retrieve data elements from on-board systems, subsystems, modules, devices and functions that collect and store data elements related to a vehicle crash such as a restraint control module (RCM) and event data recorder (EDR).
Thus, the onboard DLC provides a portal for capture of an increasing volume of sophisticated sensor data regarding the operating condition, operation and behavior of vehicles, and in particular the operation and behavior of vehicles involved in crashes. Consumers continue to be interested in safety advancements but remain concerned about issues of privacy, tampering, and misuse of vehicle crash data. It is important to protect a variety of crash-sensing and diagnostic memory modules. Increasingly, data from these devices have been used in civil and criminal court cases nationwide, including cases dealing with vehicular homicide in which speed was an issue.
Many light-duty vehicles, and increasing numbers of heavy commercial vehicles, are equipped with some form of Motor Vehicle Event Data Recorder (MVEDR) These systems, which are designed and produced by individual motor vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers, are diverse in function and proprietary in nature, however, the SAE J1962 (ISO 15031-3:2004) vehicle DLC has a common design and pinout, and is thus universally used to access event data recorder information.
Data access via the DLC can be accomplished by using scan tools or microcomputers and network interfaces. This same DLC and network interface is also used for re-calibrating electronic control units (ECU) on a vehicle. Such ECU applications can include restraint controls, engine controls, stability controls, braking controls, etc. It is important to protect against misuse of electronic tools which use the DLC to erase, modify or tamper with electronic controller or odometer readings, or to improperly download data.
Utilizing a vehicle connector lockout provides an opportunity to achieve DLC security to prevent vehicle tampering, which can include odometer fraud, illegal calibrations leading to emissions violations and theft of personal data. The data will be more secure and credible while still permitting accessibility to legitimate end users.
Having standardized data definitions and formats allows the capture of vehicle crash information. The value of improved crash information is in improving the knowledge of what happens before, during, and after a motor vehicle crash. Such insights will provide major benefits to society and significantly improve the science of motor vehicle crashes.
Kowalick in U.S. Pat. No. 7,553,173 teaches a vehicle connector lockout apparatus capable of being connected to the diagnostic port of a vehicle. The preferred embodiment of the invention uses a raised protrusion, located in the common space below the two rows of pin spacing of the diagnostic port, as a locking point. The preferred embodiment provides a blocking mating connector with a pressure mechanism for clamping the mating connector to the protrusion. In the preferred embodiment the pressure mechanism is activated and released mechanically by operation of a key or tool in a lock which is an integral part of the mating connector, where rotation of the key or tool to the locked position in the lock applies pressure to the protrusion so as to clamp the blocking mating connector to the protrusion. A further embodiment of the invention provides a non-volatile microchip memory component to store information about the vehicle operator usable by medical personnel at the scene of a crash. However, Kowalick does not teach a means of determining in pre-crash, crash, or post-crash real-time if and when the device is attached or unattached.
Doyle in U.S. Pat. No. 6,795,751 teaches a secure event data recording system configured for use in a passenger vehicle. The secure event data recording system can include an event data recorder; a memory device coupled to the event data recorder and configured to store event data processed in the event data recorder, and, an input/output port communicatively linked to the memory device through which read/write access can be provided to the memory device. Significantly, a tamper proof sealing mechanism can be provided which bars access to the memory device, the event data recorder and the input/output port without causing an irreparable breach of the tamper proof sealing mechanism. However, Doyle does not teach any locking mechanism or any means to determine in pre-crash, crash, or post-crash real time if and when the device is attached or unattached.